Reynold Básztély

According to a scholar theory, they were of French origin, and erected a tower in the settlement which became eponym to the village (first appeared in contemporary records as "Boztyh" in 1240) and subsequently the kindred ("bastille" --> "Básztij" --> "Básztély").

According to historian Attila Zsoldos, the kindred belonged to the social status of royal servants, freemen, who owned possession and was subordinate only to the king.

[2] Some historians, including Pál Engel, incorrectly claimed that he held the dignity of ispán of Veszprém County from 1237 to 1238; the office-holder's seal proves that he was, in fact, Reynold Rátót.

[5] Reynold was first mentioned by contemporary documents in 1259; he was a member of the group of so-called "royal youth" (Hungarian: királyi ifjak, Latin: iuvenis noster) by then, who was considered a faithful and ambitious soldier in the court of Duke Stephen.

However Duke Stephen, to benefit his loyal soldier, deliberately misunderstood the reason for complaint and donated lands to Reynold to neutralize Panyit's argument.

[4] Reynold connected his fate, fortune and social ascendancy to the power aspirations of Duke Stephen,[1] who governed the province of Transylvania on behalf of his father, King Béla IV of Hungary, after the loss of the Duchy of Styria against Ottokar II of Bohemia.

Reynold participated in the duke's Bulgarian campaign in the second half of 1263, when Stephen sent reinforcements to Bulgaria to assist Despot Jacob Svetoslav in his war against the Byzantine Empire.

When Béla's Judge royal, Lawrence arrived at the head of a new army and forced Stephen to retreat to Feketehalom (now Codlea, Romania) in the summer of 1264, Reynold was one of the few defenders of the fortress.

[10] When Stephen V ascended the Hungarian throne without difficulty after his father's death in May 1270, Reynold Básztély was granted huge land donations for his military achievements and loyalty.

[14] Following the Battle of Föveny in September 1274, where Henry Kőszegi was killed and the Kőszegi–Gutkeled–Geregye baronial group lost power, Reynold was replaced by Herbord Osl.

[18] According to Simon of Kéza's Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum, Reynold and his brothers, Andrew, Solomon and Ladislaus bravely fought in the Battle on the Marchfeld on 26 August 1278, where Ottokar II was killed.

While magister Simon described the events of the battle, he detailed exclusively the heroism of the Básztély brothers; therefore notable historians, like Gyula Pauler and Sándor Domanovszky considered that the chronicler originated from Dunakeszi, which belonged to the ownership of the clan.

[20] He reached the peak in his career, when he was appointed Palatine of Hungary without any antecedents sometimes around August 1289, during the last regnal years of Ladislaus, who became politically isolated by then.

[24] Alongside Peter, son of Petenye and a certain James, the elderly Reynold served as noble judge (Hungarian: szolgabíró; lit.

[7] His sons remained marginal nobles, without holding any office; their lowborn status hindered to inherit their father's influence, who rose to the elite due to his talent and loyalty.